Behold The Man For The Future – El Shaarawy

Stephan El Shaarawy has been the player of the season so far for the Italian giants AC Milan. The forward has been exceptional for Milan since his arrival and has scored 10 goals in 14 appearances in this year’s Serie A.

4 reasons why Europe should fear the growth of Stephan El Shaarawy:Forget the statistics (12 goals, leads all Serie A scorers by 4, etc, etc etc, plus the goal for Italy against France, the Champions League goals)

Here are the 4 most remarkable things about El Shaarawy.

1. Matureness

He only turned 20 a little while ago. When I was 19/20, I didn’t even know how to drive a manual transmission. I didn’t know how to file tax returns, and I didn’t really know much about life in general. El Shaarawy is reportedly sitting with the ‘senatori’ (the older Milanisti) at dinner, feeding off their leadership abilities, picking their brain as much as possible. El Shaarawy has NEVER gotten into any trouble, from what we know he’s not much of a party animal, and he works harder than anyone in training.

2. Circumstances

El Shaarawy is DRAGGING a Milan team that quite frankly, is only above average. Without much help up front, El Shaarawy has created most the goals he has scored all by himself, going on mazing runs through defenders, or scoring spectacular bombs from 35 meters out. He has scored in the biggest matches (vital Champions League away in Russia) and he has not shied away from the spotlight.

3. History

When was the last time a teenager led Milan? When was the last time a teenager was even top of the capocannoniere list?

4. Skill

At the end of the day, what has separated El Shaarawy from the rest of the team is his skill set. A true modern day forward, who operates at his best on the left of a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, where he can cut inside on his fantastic right foot and curl them in. His precision in front of goal is frighteningly sound for a player who never really had the word ‘goal scorer’ mentioned as part of his repertoire. His technique is world class, the way he can cushion an incoming cross and send it hurling into the back of the net shows just how skillful he can be. He doesn’t attempt any flamboyant dribbles, he just gets it done. Concrete, effective, daft, and well beyond his years.

We know other teams will snoop around. We’ll read plenty of rumors. But this is the player that will define Milan for the next decade.